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Lucky
"Lucky" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, taken from her second studio album Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on August 8, 2000 by Jive Records as the second single of the album. The teen pop and dance-pop song tells a story about a famous pop star named Lucky, who despite seemingly having it all: (fame, wealth, beauty) is truly lonely and unhappy on the inside. Background In 1999, Britney began work on her second studio album Oops!... I Did It Again in Sweden and Switzerland. After meeting with Max Martin and Rami Yacoub in Sweden, she recorded several songs for the album, including "Lucky" (which was co-written and co-produced by Martin and Rami) with additional co-writing from Alexander Kronlund. Upon returning to the United States, Britney revealed in an interview with MTV News that: "I just got back from Sweden, and did half of the material Oops! over there. I was really, really happy with the material, but we had such limited time to get so much done. So I've just really been in the studio nonstop, which is cool, though." She recorded her vocals for the song from November 1999 to January 2000 at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. "Lucky" was released on August 8, 2000 as the second single from the album. Reception "Lucky" received positive reviews from music critics. A review by the NME staff said that the song is "perhaps Britney's finest moment. The ultimate mallrat, bittersweet teenage symphony." They considered the song Spears' version of "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" by English rock band Oasis, and went to describe its lyrical content as "a heart-rending tale of life at the top of the teen pop tree, transformed into an anthem for dramatic, moody 12-year-old girls everywhere by Max Martin's scary talent for teenybop lyrics." However, it was noted that some of the lyrics "sounds pretty fucking heavy when you've just been dumped and Britney's Mickey Mouse Club-trained falsetto is reaching its peak." David Veitch of Calgary Sun said the song is a "sweetly melodic mid-tempo song" and regarding the lyrics completed "we feel her pain." Billboard magazine contributor Chuck Taylor praised "Lucky" and featured the song on the Spolight column of his "Singles Review" section. Taylor stated that: "its contagious melody, bang-in-your-brain hook, the empathetic theme of a girl who's the world biggest superstar and yet feels all alone (hmm...) will make it an easy sell to top 40 radio and to her grand legion of dedicated fans." In the United States "Lucky" peaked at number 23 on Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. It also peaked at number 39 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales component chart, and number 14 on Rhythmic Top 40. It also achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Austria, Europe, Sweden and Switzerland while reaching the top ten in several European countries. During the week of August 28, 2000 "Lucky" debuted at number 5 in the Official Charts Company from the United Kingdom, falling to number six in the following week. According to the Official Charts Company, it is her tenth best-selling single in the country, having sold over 225,000 copies there. In Australia, the song peaked at number three, and was later certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of more than 70,000 units of the single. In Germany, the song reached number one on the Media Control Charts, being certified Gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipping over 250,000 units of the single. Music Video Jive Records commissioned a music video for "Lucky" to be directed by Dave Meyers. According to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, Britney portrays "a melancholy movie star who wants nothing more than to have a little fun." The video begins with Britney telling a story about very famous Hollywood actress named Lucky. Lucky is seen wearing a pink nightgown behind the curtains, standing on her billboard with fluffy white cotton balls attached to the edges, inside her mansion and shots of her out on the balcony. As beautiful and rich as she is, on set she sits on the star-shape in the sky, as she is acting, she is looking quite distressed. After the first chorus, she goes to the hotel mansion to the flowers, then she leaves and sits down and gets a mirror. Next, Lucky opens the door to reveal a handsome man, who then takes her in his arms, as the director yells "Cut! We've got it." Lucky then walks off-set into the studio as grandpa's room, replying to the director: "''Finally! We've done it fifty-million times!" She then goes to have her hair and makeup done; with Spears standing unnoticed and very worried looking by her side. Lucky is then seen in a shiny silver evening gown at the Academy Awards accepting her award for Best Actress. She looks happy as she accepts it and smiles at her fans, but it is soon revealed that this is not true happiness. Britney makes her way away from her screaming fans and back into her limo where she unexpectedly finds an ornate hand mirror that was used on the film set. She looks back to the crowd to see who has left it and sees Spears leaning forward in the crowd. The limo drives away, leaving Britney behind on the red carpet. The video ends with Lucky crying herself to sleep, her make-up already stained on her face. The curtains close, ending the video. A Billboard staff reviewer noted that the story "turned out to be less than pure fiction when the singer later went through personal problems in the very public eye." Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post rated the video a C+ and stated that: "Britney's first Hollywood cautionary tale video didn't seem quite as telling at the time, but with a little distance, the lyrics and concept seem so much sadder." A writer of Rolling Stone said that "Lucky" is best known for "being the first Spears video to focus on what would become a recurring theme: her conflicted relationship to fame." Lyrics This is a story about a girl named Lucky… Early morning, she wakes up Knock, knock, knock on the door It's time for makeup, perfect smile It's you they're all waiting for They go… "Isn't she lovely, this Hollywood girl?" And they say… CHORUS: She's so lucky, she's a star But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking If there's nothing missing in my life Then why do these tears come at night Lost in an image, in a dream But there's no one there to wake her up And the world is spinning, and she keeps on winning But tell me what happens when it stops? They go… "Isn't she lovely, this Hollywood girl?" And they say… CHORUS "Best actress, and the winner is…Lucky!" "I'm Roger Johnson for Pop News standing outside the arena waiting for Lucky" "Oh my god…here she comes!" Isn't she lucky, this Hollywood girl? She is so lucky, but why does she cry? If there's nothing missing in her life Why do tears come at night? chorus twice 'Credits' *Britney Spears – vocals *Max Martin – production, songwriting, audio mixing, keyboards, programming, background vocals *Rami Yacoub – production, songwriting, keyboards *Nana Hedin – background vocals *Alexander Kronlund – songwriting *Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar *Tom Coyne – audio mastering Category:Singles Category:Singles from Oops!... I Did It Again